Chief Executive CY Leung today chaired the Commission on Poverty Summit, during which Chief Secretary Carrie Lam revealed the number of poor and the poverty rate had fallen to the lowest levels in six years.
Mrs Lam, who chairs the commission, said the poor population stood at 1,324,800 and the poverty rate at 19.6% in 2013, when the poverty line was first introduced. After recurrent cash policy intervention, the size of the poor population dropped to 960,000 and the poverty rate fell to 14.3% - the lowest levels in six years.
The Government's policy intervention successfully helped lift 172,600 households and 362,700 people out of poverty in 2014, substantially reducing the poverty rate, she said.
This is the second consecutive year that the population in poverty has stood below 1 million, showing that the poverty alleviation initiatives introduced by the current-term Government have yielded considerable results.
Mrs Lam also pointed out that an ageing population will pose a challenge to the work of poverty alleviation. The overall elderly population increased by 44,000 last year, and there is a need to conduct a more in-depth analysis to identify those in need.
United Kingdom expert on promoting youth social mobility David Johnston spoke on the social mobility situation in the UK, the policy initiatives and strategies, and his experience in helping young people from low-income backgrounds move up the economic ladder.
The Chief Executive also officiated at the Life Buddies Mentorship Programme kick-off ceremony, which aimed to boost young people's upward mobility by helping them plan their future under the encouragement and guidance of mentors.
More than 500 guests attended the summit, including members of the commission and representatives from the political, business and academic sectors, think tanks, non-governmental organisations and concern groups. Relevant principal officials, under secretaries and heads of government departments also took part.
